This paper describes the American Samoa-based 

 fishery, gives biological data (size and sex) on 

 albacore, and presents results of some preliminary 

 analyses of the catch rates (catch per unit of effort) 

 of albacore as a measure of apparent abundance. 

 The exact amount of fishing effort expended by 

 the American Samoa-based vessels relative to the 

 total longline fishing effort in the South Pacific 

 Ocean is not known. Although no reliable esti- 

 mates are available, it is apparent that the relative 

 effort changes from year to year. Apparently, the 

 American Samoa effort decreased progressively in 

 relation to the total South Pacific fishing effort 

 from 1954 at least through 1962. Because of this, 

 we have incorporated data from Japan-based 

 longline vessels fishing in tlie same general area, 

 wherever possible, to supplement tlie data collected 

 from American Samoa. 



In late 1962 the BCF (Bureau of Commercial 

 Fisheries) Biological Laboratory, Honolulu, be- 

 gan to record the size and sex of albacore landed 

 in American Samoa. Because of the rapid growth 

 of the longline fishery we decided to attempt to 

 follow tlie effects of the fishery on the resource by 

 also collecting catch and effort statistics. In April 

 1963 a field station, manned by personnel from the 

 BCF Biological Laboratory in Honolulu, was 

 established in Pago Pago, American Samoa, to 

 conduct intensive sampling of the fishery. 



Data are collected both on the biology of the 

 albacore landed at the canneries and on fishing 

 operations as recorded by the vessel operators. The 

 length, weight, and sex of 50 albacore, randomly 

 chosen, are being obtained from each trip landing. 

 Detailed catch and effort data are provided volun- 

 tarily by fishing vessel operators. The cooperation 

 of vessel operators has been gratifynng; data are 

 returned from about 85 percent of the fishing trips. 

 These data provide information on the daily fish- 

 ing effort (number of hooks fished per set) as well 

 as the catch in numbers of the various species. 



THE AMERICAN SAMOA-BASED FISHERY 



The past two decades have seen the establish- 

 ment of two tuna canneries m American Samoa. 

 In 1949, a small tuna canneiy was installed on the 

 north .shore of Pago Pago Bay on Tutuila Island, 

 American Samoa, by Island Packers, Inc. At- 

 tempts to supply this cannery witli tuna by live- 

 bait fishing and purse seining in Samoan waters 



failed, and the plant never oi^erated. The Govern- 

 ment of American Samoa, owner of the land and 

 the buildings, purchased the cannery equipment 

 to prevent its being dismantled and sold aln-oad. 

 In 1953, the Van Camp Sea Food Company ob- 

 tained a lease with a renewal option (Van Campen, 

 1954). Today, the tuna canneiy, much improved 

 by the installation of new equipment and modern- 

 ized facilities, is being operated by the Van Camp 

 Sea Food Company-Samoa. In the latter part of 

 1963, Star-Kist Samoa, Inc. began operating a new 

 cannery adjacent to the Van Camp plant. 



The two canneries depend entirely upon foreign 

 flag vessels and fishermen for their catch. Vessels 

 from Japan, the Kepublic of Korea, and the Ee- 

 public of China are ])laced under contract for 

 specified periotls, either directly with vessel ownere 

 or more generally through fishing companies, to 

 deliver their catches to these American tuna 

 canneries. 



The fish are caught by longlines in the South 

 Pacific in an extensive area covering 23 million 

 square kilometers; the 1965 fleet of 154 vessels 

 landed 15,588 metric tons of albacore and lesser 

 quantities of other pelagic species. The following 

 sections give details on the fishing method, fishing 

 groiuids, the fleet, and the fish landings. 



FISHING METHOD 



The American Samoa-based vessels fish with 

 longlines (fig. 1). The basic unit of longline gear 

 ('"basket") consists of a length of mainline 200 to 

 400 m. long, from which are suspended branch 

 lines (usually five or six) with baited hooks. The 

 mainlines are buoyed to the surface by float lines. 

 About 300 baskets of gear are joined in a series. 

 Tiie gear, thus, extends alxtut 100 km. in a single 

 fishing operation. In 1965, the vessels from Ameri- 

 can Samoa fished an average of 1,400 hooks in a 

 single set. A fishing operation requires upward of 

 20 to 22 hours from the time the gear is set (alx)ut 

 0400 hours) until it is completely retrieved (about 

 0100 the following morning). 



FISHING GROUNDS 



The geographical expansion of the fishery is 

 illustrated in figure 2. In the early years the fishery 

 was confined largely to the vicinity of the Samoa 

 Islands, but the vessels have gradually extended 

 their operations to more distant waters. By 1956, 



48 



U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



